Remind Me
by NiatheWickedLover
Summary: Elphaba and Fiyero leave Oz. Elphaba gets a job as a school teacher. When she meets a girl that reminds her of herself, she does her best to nurture her. What will happen? Find out inside!
1. New Job

"Fae, what would you like to do today?"

Elphaba turned around and saw Fiyero staring into her eyes. "Well, we are running low on money," she said, looking through her bag.

"What do you suggest we do?" Fiyero asked her.

"Well, I saw an ad in the paper saying that the local school is looking for a new history teacher," Elphaba responded.

"And you're just the girl for the job!' Fiyero exclaimed, kissing his wife.

"Fiyero, they will never hire me," Elphaba said, pulling away.

"Why not? You're smart, kind, thoughtful…"

"Green," she cut in.

"That too. But you're wonderful. They will just have to look past the green and get to know you," Fiyero said, attempting to kiss his wife again.

"What if the rumors about me have spread here?" Elphaba asked. It had been two years since Elphaba and Fiyero ran away from Oz, leaving Glinda behind. It was the hardest thing that they have ever done, but it was for the best. It was no longer safe for either of them anymore.

"Fae, it's been two years. We are miles away from Oz. We have made it this long. We'll be fine. And I'll tell you what!" Elphaba looked at him. "You apply for the teacher job, and I'll look for a job too."

"What can you do?" Elphaba asked in a joking tone.

"I can…" Fiyero really couldn't do anything. "I'll think of something," he said, crossing his arms like a child. Elphaba laughed.

The next day, Elphaba put on a simple black dress and tied her long, black hair into a tight bun. She was determined to make a good first impression. Fiyero and Elphaba lived so close to the school that Elphaba could walk. Once she reached the school, she stopped and looked up. It was a very large school. Elphaba took a deep breath and walked in.

"Name please," the secretary at the desk said, without looking up.

"Elphaba Tigelaar. I am here to apply for the job as a history teacher."

"Straight down the hall to the left," the secretary said.

"Thank you," Elphaba said as she followed the instructions. She came to the principal's door and knocked.

"Come in!" she heard a male voice say. Elphaba opened the door and found the principal sitting at his desk. He looked up to see who was there and his eyes widened. The woman standing before him was emerald green.

"Um…I…um…you…" the principal mentally slapped himself. "You're here about the history teacher job?" he finally said.

"Yes," Elphaba said, sitting down and pulling her references out of her bag. He took them, not taking his eyes off of Elphaba. Elphaba curled and uncurled her toes. She really wanted to get this job, but she wanted the principal to stop staring at her even more.

The man finally stopped looking at her to scan the paper. "You're hired!" he said after about fifteen seconds.

"What?" Elphaba asked, not expecting him to hire her without further questions.

"You. Are. Hired!" the man said smiling. He reached over to shake Elphaba's hand. "Welcome aboard the faculty of the Guiara Prep Academy. I should probably introduce myself. My name is Hammer Rustburg, principal." Elphaba was still in shock. She quickly snapped out of it. "Elphaba Tigelaar," she introduced herself.

"Please allow me to give you a tour of the school." Principal Rustburg said as he stood up from behind his desk and opened the door for Elphaba. Elphaba followed him out of the door and around the school. He showed her the gardens, the cafeteria and the faculty lounge. The school was completely empty, since school didn't start until the following week. He also went over the rules with her; no skirts above knee length, no food outside of the cafeteria, ect. Elphaba took everything in.

"I got the job!" she exclaimed to Fiyero as soon as she got home.

"Oh, Elphaba, that's wonderful!" Fiyero said as he picked up his wife and spun her around in the air. "I knew you could do it!"

"Thank you, Yero!" Elphaba said as she leaned her head on his chest and heard his heart beating.

* * *

The first day of school came very quickly. The teachers were told to report early to the auditorium for a meeting. Elphaba got up early and put on a dark purple suit. She brushed her hair and tied it up in a bun. She grabbed her bag, kissed Fiyero goodbye and walked out the door. When she entered the auditorium, she quickly grabbed a seat in the back to avoid the stares of her new co-workers.

"Welcome, faculty, to another year. Before we begin, I would like to introduce our new history teacher, Mrs. Elphaba Tigulaar." Everyone turned around to look at Elphaba. She held her breath and waited for the whispers. Sure enough, they came.

"Oh my!"

"Is she green?"

"I think she is?"

"How is her skin green?"

Elphaba expected the adults to know better. But she put on a smile and waved. The meeting went on very slowly. When it was over, Elphaba rushed out of the auditorium and rushed into the history office. She found her desk and placed her things down. She sat down and put her hands to her head. This was going to be a very long school year.

Later on, when the students started to arrive, Elphaba noticed that she was still the only teacher in the office. She left the office to find the other teachers. She found them socializing in the faculty lounge. When she entered the room, everyone stopped and looked at her. One of the teachers spilt his coffee on floor.

"Um...hello," Elphaba greeted everyone. _Don't do anything that you will regret later, Elphaba,_ she reminded herself.

"Hi. You must be Elphaba," one of the female teachers said. Elphaba nodded. She tensed when she noticed that everyone was still staring at her. "I'm Syra, one of the algebra teachers.

Elphaba smiled at her. They were interrupted when they heard the bell ring.

"This is it!" Syra said as she went over to Elphaba and took her arm. "Let the fun begin!"


	2. Colorblind

Elphaba walked down the hallway, ignoring the stares that the girls were giving her.

"Room 12… room 14… room 16. Here is it!" Elphaba exclaimed with a smile. She opened the door to the classroom. It was completely empty, just the way Elphaba wanted it. She started to write the notes she wanted the girls to copy. After a few minutes, she heard the door open and the girls come in. She didn't turn around. She wanted to remain normal for as long as possible. She looked at the clock. It was 8:15, time for the class to begin. Elphaba took a deep breath and turned around to face the class. She was greeted immediately by high-pitched screams. Some of the girls were rubbing their eyes, thinking that the teacher with green skin was a trick of the light.

"Good morning, girls. Welcome of History class. My name is Mrs. Tigelaar," Elphaba said as she turned to write her name on the board. She turned back around and saw the girls still staring at her. Only one girl in the front row wasn't staring at Elphaba in a weird way, and Elphaba wondered why.

"Well, anyway, I am going to seat you in alphabetical order so I can learn your names." The class groaned, but got up and Elphaba seated them.

"In the first row, we will have Metla, Arayla, Wen, Lydia and Frallie," Elphaba said as she read her list of names. The five girls went to their seats. Elphaba continued to read her list until she called all of the girls and they were seated.

"Now that we took care of that, let's get down to business." Elphaba pulled down a map of in front of the notes. "Can anyone tell me what country is in red?" Elphaba said, pointing to the map. She turned around. "Okay. Yes, I'm green. I have always been this way and it's not contagious. Now, if no one raises their hand, I will be forced to chose someone," Elphaba said with her hands on her hips.

A few of the girls closed their opened mouths and stopped staring at their teacher. Elphaba looked at her list again. "Edlie," she said.

Edlie looked up. "Um… the Winkie Country?" Edlie whispered.

"Are you asking me or telling me?" Elphaba asked.

Edlie began to shrink in her seat. Elphaba sighed. "Well, you're correct." Edlie sat up in her seat again and smiled.

"Next, which one is in green?" She saw that some of the girls were trying not to laugh. "Irena?" Irena looked up. "The Vinkus," she stated. Elphaba nodded.

"Last one, which one is in purple? Lydia?" This made the class burst into laughter. Elphaba had a confused expression written all over her face. She looked at Lydia, waiting for an answer. "Well?" Elphaba asked. Lydia's face turned a bright shade of red. "Shhhh!" she commanded the glass. Everyone fell silent. "I don't know," Lydia finally whispered.

"Ligara?" Elphaba said, pronouncing the 'g' like a 'j'.

Ligara stood up. "Please, it's Ligara, with a 'ga'," It was Elphaba's turn to laugh. This girl reminded her so much of Glinda. "I'm sorry," Elphaba said, composing herself. "Do you know the answer?" She planed to talk to Lydia after the class.

"It's Munchkinland," Ligara said, smiling as she sat down.

"Very good," Elphaba said, rolling up the map again to reveal the notes behind it. "Now, for the first day, I thought that we would do something fun," Elphaba said as she pulled out colored pencils and passed them around the class. "I would like you to add color to your own map. These maps will be used throughout the year, so please try and be neat."

As the class started to work, Lydia stared at her colored pencils as if they were poisonous snakes.

"Lydia, is something wrong?" Elphaba asked.

Lydia bit her bottom lip. A few of the girls chuckled. The bell rang that signaled the end of the class. Everyone packed up and gave the pencils back to Elphaba. Lydia was the first person out of the room.

"Lydia!" Elphaba called after her, but Lydia didn't seem to hear her. No matter, she would talk to her later.

* * *

"How was your first day?" Fiyero asked as soon as Elphaba walked through the door of their home.

"It was fine, I guess. The usual staring. But…" Elphaba said, putting her bag in a chair and getting some tea. "There was this one girl."

"What her name?" Fiyero asked as he sat across the table from Elphaba.

"Lydia. She's really sweet, but something's wrong. I don't know what. She just reminds me or myself a little."

"How?"

"She's… I don't know… she get's teased for something. I asked her what part of Oz was colored and she didn't know. I asked her what was wrong when we were coloring in maps and she didn't answer me."

"Maybe she's colorblind."

Elphaba almost choked on her tea. "You really think so?"

"It's possible. From what you say, that's what it sounds like."

"I never thought about that."

"Maybe you should ask her."

"Ask her?"

"Yes."

"Isn't that a little personal?"

"Fae, if she is, maybe you can help her."

"I'll try it."

* * *

"Lydia, may I speak to you please?" Elphaba called the next day after class.

Lydia slowly walked up to her teacher with her eyes on the floor.

"Please tell me what's wrong. I want to help you," Elphaba pleaded.

Lydia still didn't meet Elphaba's eyes.

"Lydia, I am going to ask you something, and I want you to be completely honest with me. Are you colorblind?"

Lydia looked up into Elphaba's eyes. She didn't move, but Elphaba thought that she saw Lydia nod her head slowly.

* * *

_Thank Oz_, was all that Elphaba could think. That explains so much. It explains why everyone was laughing at her, why she couldn't answer Elphaba's questions and why she looked at the colored pencils like she expected to kill her. She looked into the eyes of the 14-year-old girl and put a green hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," Elphaba comforted as Lydia began to cry.

Lydia didn't say anything, but she stopped crying.

"I know how you feel," Elphaba assured her.

"How?" Lydia asked.

"I used to be teased and ridiculed too. Because I was different."

Lydia scanned her teacher over, but she didn't see anything wrong with her. Elphaba was about to tell her when she remembered that Lydia couldn't see colors. Elphaba just shook her head. "You can leave now."

Lydia left the room, confused and surprised.


End file.
